Recently, while giving a presentation on social media marketing to alocalVancouvercompany the question was asked about big brands using social media marketing and what results they have been seeing. This was a smack my forhead with my palm type moment where I was thinking “Of course a case study would have been a good idea to bring.

In response to that moment I did a quick search on Google and came up with a few case studies that will help those of you interested in learning about what the big boys are doing in regards to Twitter, Facebook and social media in general.

I particularly like Dell’s story because they got off to a rocky start with their foray into blogging and were able to recover and then create some big wins with their Idea Storm site (run on the Salesforce.com Ideas platform which I recommend checking out). If you’ve read “What Would Google Do?” then you know what I’m talking about.

I’ve been working on a social media tutorial and a separate multipart Twitter tutorial for my clients and newsletter subscribers for a few weeks now. As part of my research into what others are talking about in the social media space, I came across this great video by Perry Belcher.Â

Some key takeaways from the video:

Social media is like a big party, if all you do is talk about what you do the whole time, you end up being the biggest asshole at the party! So talk about lots of stuff you’re interested in and you’ll connect with more people.

Don’t push stuff in people’s face. Meet a lot of people and connect with them as they will in turn know a lot of people and as your network grows these people will potentially refer business to you. It’s not about making money directly it’s about meeting people and building a network. (Couldn’t agree more Perry!)

Spread other people’s info around (like I am doing with this video) and help other people out by connecting them. Just like you’d do a real world networking event.

If I’ve piqued your interest, have a look at the video below. You’ll learn a lot!

Have an in with a traditional mass media company with great distribution

And have a Twitter account of course!

The story I am referencing above is in regards to Ashton Kutcher’s (@aplusk on Twitter) recent publicity stunt of generating 1 Million followers on Twitter and beating CNN in the race to boot.

How did he do it and why should you care? For an explanation of how he did it, see this article on Advertising Age, complete with images of Kutcher’s billboard promo. (whoops did I give it away?)

Now for the answer to the question: “Why should you care?”

For one this is a great example of how online marketing and offline marketing can be merged with excellent results.

Now, the value to Kutcher of having a million fans, and the resulting publicity at this stage may be hard to measure (sure beats stories about DUI’s, divorce or drug abuse!), but for the average person or company, it’s a great reminder that relying on one source of marketing is never a sound strategy and often online and offline can work together to give you extra bang for your buck.

Another thing this story reminded me of was: to be original. Or at any rate, the ploy was a great example of taking an old concept (billboard advertising) and mixing it with something new (Twitter) to create buzz and increase one’s reach in the marketplace.

Those are my thoughts on this story. I’m now heading out with some spray paint to post @adamkillam on everything in sight I can get my hands on. I figure if I work hard over the weekend I should be able to ad at least another 200-300 followers!

The 1st Vancouver Twestival is taking place tomorrow (Feb 12th) at 6:00 PM. I was one of the lucky fast movers who got a ticket and NOW I CAN’T GO! Seems a course I booked myself in for a couple of months back decided to start this week on the 12th and attending the first session is mandatory.

In light of these recent developments, I would like to give my ticket away – with a small catch.

What’s the catch you say?

What I would like in return for the ticket is some help with my website. Yes, I work in Internet marketing and yes I am web savvy but the plain truth is that I have neglected this site for some time now. It seems I am always doing work for my clients (god love them) and Â never enough on my own site (can you relate?). Â

I am currently working to overhaul the content of the site and all sections are being worked on. Visitor feedback is incredibly valuable in my eyes which is where this mini contest comes into play.

Here’s how you can help, AND WIN BIG! 😉

Post a mini review of this site with 3 helpful tips/suggestions/comments.Â

Add your post to the comments section of this articleÂ

By 8:00 PM I will choose a winner and announce it on this site and on Twitter.

Be sure to include a link back to your site and your email address or @ so I can get in touch